


Wyvern's Call

by Adraowen



Series: Ariel dances to the beat of his own heart [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22078771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adraowen/pseuds/Adraowen
Summary: Ariel has always been a fool. He knows that. But he also believes letting Claude go is what is best for both of them.
Relationships: Claude von Riegan/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Ariel dances to the beat of his own heart [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588639
Kudos: 4





	Wyvern's Call

_“Come home with me. Lorenz and the others can handle things here. Let’s go home.”_

_Claude had removed his glove. Ariel could feel the roughness of his fingers as they pressed gently against his jaw. Down they moved until they slid lightly down his neck where Claude could gently grab hold. His palm was warm where it pressed against his skin, but Ariel still didn’t open his eyes._

_He couldn’t look at Claude and be able to hide the pain he felt. This was for the best. It took everything he had to convince himself there was truth in that._

_So he steps back and pushes Claude away._

_In the silence of the courtyard he thinks he can hear the blades of grass blowing in the wind. Somewhere above, Claude’s snowy wyvern cries and Ariel feels the strangle of regret grip his throat._

_“This can’t work.” He finally looks up and at Claude, but the fear and confusion clouding his eyes constrict Ariel’s heart and he forces himself to look away again. “You have a nation to rule. There are rules and expectations. You need an heir. That’s not for me.” He swallows and looks down at the grass as his nails dig into his cold palms. The pain brings him relief that he sorely needs. “You know me. I need freedom. A palace would be too stuffy.”_

_That’s a lie. He knows it. Claude knows it too._

_Claude reaches out to him, making a motion to argue, but Ariel can’t give him the chance. If he lets Claude talk… if he lets the man he loves try to convince him it’s not all so hopeless… if he does that then Claude will win._

_So he doesn’t let it happen. He slaps Claude’s hand away and regrets the echo it leaves ringing in his mind. Claude looks pained, but accepting. Ariel hates that he put such an expression on the face of the man he loves._

_He hates it even more when Claude tells him goodbye to his back, climbs on his wyvern, and flies away._

—

“You’re a damn fool, boy!”

Ariel rubs at his sore jaw, eyes stinging from the force of the punch that Nader sent his way. He is sitting in the dirt, once beautiful clothes soiled with mud. He would complain about Nader’s tactics, call him a bastard and many other names, but truthfully Nader was only defending himself. Ariel was the one to throw the first punch and his mentor would have been a fool not to retaliate.

Above him Nader scoffs and turns on his heel, but doesn’t leave. His hands find each other and from the motion, Ariel knows he is rubbing his knuckles. They hadn’t had a fight like this for some time and Ariel wonders if Nader regrets that it’s come to this now.

But Ariel is also angry as all hell and he never quite learned how to back down.

“I said no! I’m not–I’m not going back there!” He pushes himself clumsily onto his feet and stands his ground. He tries to will his emotions to stay in check, but even now he can feel his expression betraying him. He must look like a fool. “I’m not going to go back there and let myself look like an idiot! What do you want me to do?! Do you want me to go and pretend I don’t feel a damn thing as I watch him court his future queen?!” 

He tries to continue but his voice catches and he makes a choked sound. Ariel knows he must sound like a whining child and he hates himself even more for it. When he finally pushes through, his voice has lost some of its edge and he finally recognizes that Nader is looking at him again. There is a wise man’s eyes watching him and Ariel quickly looks away.

“He needs heirs. He needs children he can love and a family. He deserves that. I can’t give him any of it. I can’t watch him get it from someone else. I’m a coward, Nader. I’m not… I’m not strong enough for any of that.”

Nader hits him again.

It’s a softer blow, much softer than the first one, and Ariel doesn’t have the energy to be angry. This is familiar to him. It’s how they communicate and he is at least thankful for the familiarity. He expects to fall to the ground again, but Nader is also there to keep him upright. He grabs Ariel by the shoulders and pulls him forward, and suddenly Ariel finds himself wrapped awkwardly in a hug.

“I know you love him, boy, but you’re still a damn fool.”

They push apart and Ariel keeps his eyes glued to Nader, who rubs innocently at his neck before lighting up with a smile. Then the smile fades and he presses a large finger against Ariel’s chest.

“Did you ever bother to think about what _he wants?”_

Nader waits for a response and when Ariel shakes his head no, he presses his entire palm against Ariel and pushes him back a step.

“Claude’s been a damn mess without you there. He puts on a good show, but the idiot won’t even smile anymore. Doesn’t reach his eyes like it used to. He can fool everyone else but he can’t fool me. You know what he told me when I asked him what his damn problem was?” Nader’s lips press together as he weighed the risk of revealing whatever secret Claude told him, but then he is shaking his head and he grabs Ariel’s clothes and pulls him forward. “He said he left something behind and the only thing I could think of was you. The scrawny kid he met in that Almyran market. The same one he took all the way to Fodlan. The one that refused to go back home with him. You.”

Ariel can’t take the disappointed look that Nader focuses on him. He tries to pull away but Nader is stronger and he doesn’t let go no matter how hard Ariel pushes and pulls. With a jerk, Ariel is pulled closer again until the two of them are face to face. There’s no room to escape anymore.

“Boy, Claude doesn’t want anyone else. He wants you there. He asked you to go. You’re the one saying no and it’s damn time you got off your high horse and said yes. So what if he is a king now. That pain in the ass has always done what he wants and you’re the only idiot who can’t seem to figure that out.”

“You love him, right?”

When Ariel nods, small and afraid, Nader pushes him away.

“Then give him a chance to love you back.”

—

Ariel managed to get away after that. He didn’t see Nader for a week. He couldn’t be certain if that’s because Nader had left or if he was being courteous and giving Ariel space to think.

The problem was that thinking was never Ariel’s strong suit. Not when it came to himself. He could con anyone out of anything, but he couldn’t lie to himself. Not anymore.

He was outside the walls of Derdriu when he heard the wyvern’s call. It was nearly masked by the sound of the water nearby but Ariel caught it all the same. He shielded his eyes from the Sun as the beast descended, and only just barely caught a glimpse of its shining white scales before it landed several feet away.

Claude was stood before him again. He looked hesitant. He looked tired. Ariel let himself feel every emotion he had locked inside since he watched Claude fly away all those months ago. Claude made no attempt to move closer. He didn’t say anything. He just stood there and watched, almost seeming to be afraid of what would come next.

It’s okay. Claude didn’t have to say or do anything. Ariel knew the next move could only be his own. He looked down at his hands, his fingers intertwined as his palms rubbed together to keep some of his nervous energy in check.

“I’m sorry.”

It was such a simple apology, but it seemed to be all that was needed to break open the damn.

Claude reached him in only a few strides and before Ariel could say anything else, he was being pulled into a kiss. Their mouths crashed together in their hurry to connect and Claude took control, putting every bit of unspent emotion and feeling as he could into what was their first true kiss. Ariel tried to return the favor, but his eyes were watering and he was overwhelmed by the warmth and feeling Claude poured over him.

When they managed to break apart, both were spent and Claude held Ariel’s face gently in his hands. Ariel’s eyes were closed but he felt Claude’s forehead press against his own. When Claude whispered his next question, Ariel could feel his breath against his skin.

“Come home?”

Ariel choked out a laugh and pressed closer to Claude, flicking his eyes open just long enough to make sure he didn’t miss as he pressed another kiss against Claude’s swollen lips.

“Yes.”


End file.
